An Unpredictible Journey
by Arekuchan93
Summary: A girl who's lost everything searches to gain something after all that she has lost.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I awoke from my sleep when my head smacked against the train window. I rubbed my head and looked out the window. I could tell we were close to Central.

I was a wanderer. I hadn't really had a home since my mother, father, and little brother had been murdered by a man whom I only knew as Scar. My father and mother had been bodyguards for an alchemist and were killed when they tried to protect their charge. After that, I took my brother and we wandered through town after town searching for a place to stay. We ended up in Central where my aunt lived. My family had also lived in Central before everyone but me was killed. My aunt was a State Alchemist. I left my brother with her because I thought that he should have a home. I hugged him and left, promising to return.

A year later I returned to Central to visit my brother and my aunt. I went to her house and knocked on the door. When my aunt saw me, she began to cry.

"Areku," she said, sobbing, "your brother is dead."

She told me about how one day a few months ago my aunt and my brother were on their way to buy some food at the market when they ran into Scar. Scar knew that my aunt was an alchemist. My aunt picked up my brother, but before she could run, Scar reached out his hand towards my aunt's head. She ducked and his hand landed on my brother's head instead. Scar used his destructive and incomplete process of alchemy on my brother instead of my aunt. Thankfully, my aunt managed to escape from Scar somehow before she was also killed. My aunt was now my only remaining family member. I was going to Central to visit her.

I sighed as my train drew to a halt at Central's train station. I grabbed my suitcase and got off of the train. I immediately headed towards my aunt's house.

When I got to her house I noticed that it seemed strangely empty. I knocked on the door a few times, but she didn't answer. I looked through a window. It was dark inside.

"Hmm, that's strange," I said to myself.

I decided to go to Central Command and talk to the people there. She worked there, so someone was bound to know where my aunt was.

Not much longer after that, I learned from Colonel Roy Mustang, a superior to my aunt, that she had been murdered by none other than Scar.

"What do you mean killed!" I yelled out of grief and anger.

"The Major was killed by Scar along with two guards," said Mustang.

"But that...can't be," I said.

"Ten State Alchemists have been killed in this month alone," said Mustang. "And he still hasn't been caught. Scar's on the move. He's killing every alchemist within his reach, and anyone else who gets in the way."

I stared at the floor. I knew all about that. "How will he be stopped?"

"In whichever way we can stop him," said Mustang.

My gaze stayed on the floor.

"If you need a place to stay for the night, you can sleep over there," said Mustang, pointing to a black couch in his office.

"Thank you sir."

Mustang nodded and got up to leave for the night.

"Sir?"

Mustang turned around to face me. "Let me guess, you're going to tell me that you want to become a State Alchemist.

"How did you..." I started.

"Your aunt told me about your ambitions to become a State Alchemist, and also about your talent. I understand that you work with medicinal alchemy?"

"Yes sir."

"I believe that if you really have the talent your aunt has said you have, you might be of use to the military," said Mustang. "The Alchemy Exam is in one month. I suggest that you prepare yourself."

I nodded. That was really soon.

"I also suggest that in addition to your medicinal alchemy, you also have a way to defend yourself. Your aunt has informed me that you have never used your alchemy in the means of a battle."

"No sir," I said. "I haven't. But with all due respect, how am I supposed to learn how to defend myself with alchemy in a month?"

"I have a better solution to that," said the Colonel. "Be here and ready by 6:00am."

"Yes sir, I will."

"Good."

I saluted as he left the room and then I laid on the couch to get some sleep. Sleeping turned out to be almost impossible. My head was full of thoughts about Scar and I wondered how he could just kill people like that. My head also swam with memories of my family. My memories was all that I had left of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next morning I made sure that I was ready by 6:00am. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Almost as soon as I had finished getting ready, the door opened. Colonel Mustang entered his office along with a woman with blonde hair.

"Areku," said Mustang, "this is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. She will be teaching you how to use firearms."

I nodded. Now I knew what the Colonel's "better solution" was, and I was excited. I had always wanted to learn how to use firearms.

"Well," said Mustang, "what do you say?"

"I would be honored to be your student Lieutenant Hawkeye," I said, saluting her in proper military fashion.

"Are you ready then?" Asked Riza.

"Yes."

"Well then I don't see why we shouldn't start today. Don't you agree Colonel?" said Riza.

"Yes," said Mustang. "I don't see why not. She only has one month to prepare for the Alchemy Exam. The quicker we start, the better."

Riza nodded. "Let's get going then, shall we?"

I nodded and followed her out the door. Colonel Mustang looked satisfied as we left. I couldn't help but wonder if this was part of his plan. Actually, I knew it was part of his plan. My aunt had told me about the Colonel. It was kind of scary, but in some ways I was like him.

Soon Riza and I arrived at an indoor room designed for target practice. She handed me a small black pistol. I moved it around in my hand. I had long been awaiting this moment.

"Okay," said Lieutenant Hawkeye, "hold it like this and..." She held her pistol with one hand and aimed it at the center of the target and pulled the trigger. She hit her mark exactly.

"Okay, now you try," said Riza.

I held up the gun and aimed it at the center of the target like Riza had. I was a bit unsure of my aim, but I kept the gun still and pulled the trigger. I also hit my mark.

I was astonished. This had been my first time even firing a gun and I had hit my target in the exact center.

"Seems like you're a natural," said Riza. "Why don't you fire off a few more rounds."

I nodded. I knew that she wanted to see if my first shot had just been a stroke of luck.

It wasn't. Every bullet that I fired hit its mark. Riza looked surprised, but also proud. "You remind me of myself when I first started using firearms."

I took that as a compliment. After all, Colonel Mustang had asked her to teach me, and the Colonel would not have brought a mediocre shooter to teach me. He wanted me to be the best I could possibly be for the military if I became a State Alchemist. He would also score points with the higher-ups for "discovering" me if I was good. I knew that it was Roy Mustang's ambition to become Führer of Amestris. Somehow though, I felt that this wasn't only for his benefit. Colonel Mustang's personality wasn't that cut and dry- I could tell somehow.

My long brown hair fell over my green-brown eyes, and I blew it out of my eyes without really thinking. I thought about my brother, which I did a lot. As his sister, I couldn't help it. Especially now that he was gone. I had been over ten years older than him. He was only four when he was murdered by Scar. I had just turned fifteen the previous week.

I saw Riza look at the clock on the wall out of the corner of my eye. "We should get going," said Riza.

I nodded. "Oh," I said, "here's your gun back." I held out the pistol.

"Keep it," she said, "you never know when you'll need it."

She was right. I pocketed the pistol. "Thanks."

She nodded. "We should get back to Central Command. Colonel Mustang is probably wondering where we are. We've been gone longer than I thought."

We left. Central Command was only about a half an hour away by foot.

I could feel the pistol in my pocket as Riza and I made our way back to Central Command. The pistol was a reminder of the Alchemy Exam next month.

Soon I found myself in Mustang's office with Riza. 

"So," said Mustang, "how did it go?"

"Good sir," said Hawkeye. "She's a natural.

"A natural, huh?" said Roy. "Looks like you really may be of use to the military after all. I guess I was right about you, Loyal. Don't disappoint me."

"I won't sir," I said, saluting him.

"If you don't mind, Lieutenant, I would like you to continue training her," said Roy. 

His question was more of a demand, but Riza didn't seem to notice or care. "Yes sir," she replied quickly.

"Dismissed," said Colonel Mustang.

I looked at him, confused. I had thought that he would have invited me to stay in his office another night. Apparently not. I gathered up my suitcase as Riza left.

I saluted Mustang, who looked frustrated. I didn't blame him for not inviting me to stay in his office for another night. Something was apparently bothering him and he probably needed some time alone.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay here sir," I said. I turned to leave, but before I had a chance to open the door, Mustang spoke.

"I have been informed today that three more alchemists have been killed in the past few days," he said.

My eyes widened. Roy looked up from his desk. "Are you sure that this is what you want?"

I paused but nodded quickly. "Yes sir."

"Very well then."

I opened the door and walked out. I began to close the door behind me, but turned around before the door was completely shut. I saw Mustang's hand covering his eyes and forehead in frustration.

"Why is this happening?" I heard him mutter.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A week later I awoke on the bench that I had been spending my nights on for the past two weeks. On those forteen days, I spent most of my time training with Riza and searching for food. Some days I got lucky and I would eat at Central Command's cafeteria if I was invited to by either Colonal Mustang or Lieutenant Hawkeye. Neither of them knew that I had been sleeping on a bench in a run-down park.

I had also been perfecting my shooting with Riza's help. I enjoyed my time with Riza. I was actually a lot like Riza. And when I say a lot, I mean _a lot._ Even though I had only known Riza for a few weeks, I felt like I had known her for a long time.

I stretched and stood up, grabbing my suitacase. I had to go and meet Colonal Mustang in his office. He had told me to meet him on Sunday, and today was the day. I had no idea why he wanted to see me. That was pretty scary considering that this was Roy Mustang we were talking about.

A half an hour later I opened Colonel Mustang's office door. When I entered, I was surprised. Not only was Mustang there, but also two others. One was a boy with his yellow hair pulled into a braid, and the other was a big guy with armor on. I recognized the guy with the armor on immediatley. At least I _thought _I did. 

I walked up to the armored one. "Hey," I said, "you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, aren't you?"

Ah...no that's not-" started the armored one, who had a very childish voice for his size.

I heard heavy breathing. I turned around and saw the yellow-haired boy's chest heaving up and down. He looked like he wanted to kill someone, and I didn't think that it was going to be himself.

"I'm Alphonse Elric," said the armored one. "That's my brother, Edward."

"And I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist!" said the yellow-haired boy I now knew as Edward. He was pointing to himself.

"But your so..." I started, but my voice trailed off when I saw Edward giving me the death glare. "Never mind. Anyway, my name's Areku Loyal. Nice to meet you."

Roy spoke. "I asked Fullmetal to come and help you get ready for the Alchemy Exam.

"Yeah," muttered Ed quietly enough so Mustang wouldn't hear him, "so he can get a promotion."

"Ed's going to help you, isn't that right Ed?" said Colonel Mustang in his usual cool manner.

"Hmph," said Ed, looking annoyed.

"The Alchemy Exam is in only two weeks," said Roy. "I suggest that you start today so that Areku's ready."

"Yes sir," said Ed. He didn't appear to really like Mustang, but he had to respect the higher-ups.

Ed turned towards me. "Okay, let's go. Ready Al?"

"Yes brother," replied Al.

Not much later Ed, Al, and I arrived in an empty field. I looked around. "Um, why are we here? There's really nothing here to transmute here except for grass," I said.

"We're not here to practice alchemy," said Alphonse.

"What?" I was surprised.

"That's right," said Ed. "You have to train your body as well as your mind. That's what our teacher taught us."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked.

"I thought we'd start by sparring," said Ed. "You should probably start by sparring me." He gave Al a playful punch. "I've never beaten this hunk of metal before."

Alphonse laughed shyly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Okay, you ready?" asked Ed as he took off his red jacket.

I nodded, preparing myself. I didn't know what kind of fighter he was. All I knew was that he was the Fullmetal Alcheimst, and by what I had heard, he was a good one.

"Okay, let's go," said Ed. He ran towards me quickly, but I dodged him. I threw a punch his way and hit his arm. When my hand hit it, pain shot through my hand. What I had hit was definatly not human flesh.

"Automail, huh?" I said.

"Yep," said Ed, "and it's the best there is."

I looked at which arm I had punched. It was his right. I made a mental note never to punch that arm again.

After fighting Ed for another minute or so, I had realized that Ed was nimble and able to flip around like a freaking monkey. I wasn't very acrobatic like he was, but I compensated that with my strength and, most of all, with my strategy. Strategy was my key to just about everything. I was also bigger than Ed, (he'd kill me if he heard me say that) giving me an advantage over him.

After a few more minutes, our sparring match was over. The fight had ended after I pinned Ed to the ground and he couldn't escape for my grasp.

"Nice job," said Ed as he got up.

"Thanks," I said. All of the sudden I felt the hand that I had used to punch Ed's automail arm begin to throb. I looked down at my hand. It was pink and it was also beginning to swell. I wished I could perform my medicinal alchemy on myself.

I grabbed my favorite red zip-up hoodie from my suitcase. I stuck my swollon hand ito one of my jacket's pockets.

"Why do you always carry that suitcase around with you?" asked Alphonse.

I shrugged.

"Where are you from?" asked Ed.

"I was born in Aquroya but my family and I left to live in Central when we found out that Aquroya was sinking, and fast," I replied.

"Oh," said Al, "we've been there before."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Ed, "we were looking for something there."

"What were you looking for?" I asked.

"Nothing," said Ed quickly. "Look, let's get back to HQ before Mustang bites my head off again."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Later we arrived at Central Command. My hand still hurt, but that didn't matter. I had been through things much worse than throbbing hand. We were then waiting for Mustang in his office. We had already been waiting for almost a half hour. Ed was ticked.

"We come back here just so Mustang lays off of me, but then he doesn't even show," said Ed.

"He's probably busy, brother," said Al.

Somehow I don't think that Ed was satisfied with Al's comment. Honestly, neither was I. Waiting wasn't exactly my strong point. I was generally a patient person, but in certain situations I wasn't patient at all.

I was snapped out of my brief daze when Al spoke to me. "What's wrong with your hand?" he asked.

"Huh?" I looked down. I had accidentally taken my hand out of my pocket without realizing it. "Oh, that's form punching Ed's automail."

"Hey," said Ed, "Mustang told me you were a medicinal alchemist. Why can't you heal your hand?"

"Because," I said, "I can't perform transmutations without circles, and I need both of my hands to perform alchemy."

"Oh," said Al, "I see."

Edward looked at me and his gaze met mine. His yellow eyes were like orbs reflecting the gentle rays of the sun. "I'll get you some ice," said Ed. As Ed turned to leave I thought that I may had seen him smile. It was probably wishful thinking, but I couldn't help feeling that he did. I felt an uncontrolled smile arise across my face. Was I falling in love? I hoped not. It felt great, but it wasn't desirable in my situation. It could disrupt my work and concentration. But he had been so nice to me... Was he like that to everyone?

"Areku?"

I made sure to wipe my smile off of my face before turning around to face Al. "Yeah?"

"Um... my brother is... it's just that..." said Al. "Never mind." He rubbed the back of his head. I had noticed that he did that a lot.

"Hey Al, can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"You're empty, aren't you? And your brother- not only is his arm automail, but so is his leg."

How did you-" started Al.

"When your brother walks, every other step brings the creak of metal, and I've never seen you take that armor off. If I've heard correctly, you're a year younger than Ed. You couldn't possibly be that big already."

Al looked down. "It's true. My brother and I have done something dangerous and forbidden."

"Human transmutation, right? I know a lot about it, and also what happens to those who perform it," I said.

"You do?"

I nodded. "I've read a lot of books about it."

"Why did you read so much about it?" asked Alphonse.

"Because... I wanted to bring someone back."

"Who?" asked Al softly.

"My brother."

Both Al and I were silent for a moment. "What happened to him?' asked Al.

"He was... murdered... by Scar," I replied difficultly.

"You know," said Al, "you might not know this but-" Al was cut off.

"Scar?" asked Ed, who apparently walked in without either of us noticing him. He was holding a pack of ice. "I heard you in the hall. Scar killed your brother?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"You know Areku," said Al, "Scar isn't really that bad."

"Not that bad!" I said a bit too loudly. "He's murdered practically my entire family. Now I don't even have a family!"

"Areku's right Al," said Ed. "Like I've said before, Scar's murdered dozens of innocent people. I can't forgive him for that."

"But... I guess so, brother," said Al. "But still. If you really talked to him you might think so too."

"If I tried to talk to him, he'd just kill me," said Ed.

"I don't know, brother," said Alphonse.

Ed gave his brother an unreadable look. "Oh," he said, "here's some ice for your hand." He held the ice pack out to me.

"Thanks," I said taking the ice pack. It felt good on my swollon hand.

"Yeah," said Ed. His eyes caught mine again. I tried not to gaze into them, but I couldn't help it.

The door opened again. It was Colonel Mustang. He interrogated Ed about some assignment of his while I sat out of the picture, thinking about Ed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Before I knew it, two weeks had passed and it was the morning of the Alchemy Exam. I felt that I was ready for the written part and the interview, but I didn't know what I would do for my demonstration. After all, how in the world were you supposed to demonstrate medicinal alchemy?

I had also been practicing my shooting with Riza every day, so I was definitley ready to defend myself if I had to. That would probably only help me during the interview, though. Neither Ed nor Colonel Mustang had told me that some sort of monster was going to set on me, so I figured that I wouldn't actually have to _demonstrate_ my marksmanship. I could, however, tell the people interviewing me that I was a pretty good marksman so they knew that I wasn't some helpless fifteen year old girl who was thirsty for power. I wasn't thirsty for power, was I? 

I considered both Ed and Roy reliable sources of information about the Alchemy Exam seeing as both Ed and Mustang had taken the Alchemy Exam, and Roy now _supervised_ it. I wasn't sure if Mustang's presence at the Alchemy Exam would comfort me or make me nervous. Maybe a little bit of both. I knew the Colonel fairly well by now, but I also didn't want to disappoint him. Colonel Mustang was the closest thing a had to a father, and I wanted to make him proud. I also didn't want to disappoint myself. If I didn't become a State Alchemist I would just continue to wander without any real purpose. I didn't like that. I had gone on long enough feeling that my life had no purpose. Of course, I didn't completely agree with the military, but at least I would be useful for something. It wasn't like complete wack-jobs were running it (heh heh heh). Don't you just love irony?

I picked my suitcase off of the bench I had been calling my "home" for the past month. Honestly, I didn't really mind sleeping on the bench, but I wished that I had a real home. One that was warm. One that I could come home to every day. One with family.

I sighed. Like that was ever going to happen.

When I arrived at the site of the Alchemy Exam, I was astonished. There must have been fifty people already seated and ready for the written part of the exam. If I had recalled correctly, Mustang had told me that only one or two people were accepted as State Alchemists. This didn't really help my nerves.

I sat down and about a minute later the test was passed out. It wasn't all that hard, but it was _long._ I didn't even finish the stupid thing.

I walked out of the building and stretched. Now I had to go demonstrate, and I still didn't know what the heck I was going to do. I walked over to the demonstration site with the other State Alchemist hopefuls. The Führer explained what we were supposed to do, but I didn't really listen. Mustang had already informed me about that. When the Führer was rambling on, I thought about what I should do, but I still couldn't figure out how to demonstrate my alchemy. Soon we got started.

I watched the first few alchemist demonstrations, which were mostly impressive. One guy made this huge cannon, probably to impress the officers (who were mostly on the destructive side). Another girl made a huge tree grow, but I couldn't really see the real militaryuse for a tree. Another man made a complete fool out of himself when he attempted to transmute a pile of rocks into something, but nothing happened. That was a real show.

When the forth alchemist got up to demonstrate, I yawned. This was going to be a long day.

I watched as the man attempted to transmute another pile of rocks, (what's with the rocks?) but something went wrong. The area around him lit up and he grasped his side. Unusual things were ripping through the man's skin and diving back into him. His alchemy was appearing to _backfire._ I had never seen anything like it. I stayed back, as did the others. Getting too close at this point could have some horrible, unknown effects. A few seconds later, it stopped. Everyone was shocked. Blood was everywhere.

"Someone get a doctor!" I heard a man shout.

I ran up to the man, who was lying on his back. I picked up a stick that was nearby and drew a transmutation circle around him. I placed my hands on the circle and concentrated. I could feel a heavenly light being shed on the man and I. I looked at the man when I no longer felt it. His wounds were sealed and he was breathing.

I couldn't believe it. He was actually alive.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The man slowly opened his eyes. I sighed with relief.

"That was incredible," I heard someone say.

I whipped around. I was pretty confused and startled. Had I just saved this man's life? 

Bits of thoughts raced through my head randomly. I saw light. White light. It was strong and seemed to burn straight through my eyes. It was a heavenly light, pure and bright. But soon that light was gone and it turned to black. Fire burned and crackled. But it couldn't be fire... I felt like I was being changed, but not really. I felt as if I knew more than I had ever known before. Clips of information raced through my mind. Billions of them. All of them felt like they were part of me know. I knew that that information was now in _me._ What was going on? 

My head began to throb and sear with pain. I couldn't remember very well and my vision was blurry. What had I just seen? What was happening? I couldn't think. It had taken so much of my energy to...to... And what I had seen... I had heard about this... But it couldn't be possible... Why was the reaction so delayed? Was it the... 

And then everything went black.

"Hey, hey. Miss Loyal." Someone was shaking me.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was pretty out of it. I didn't feel like getting up, but I sprang to my feet when I realized who had been shaking me. It had been the _Führer. _Great. I had never been good with first impressions but this had to be number one on my list.How did he know my name anyway? Mustang must have told him.

"Relax," said the Führer. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that we have our newest State Alchemist. One of our youngest too."

I heard the news, but I was barely listening. What was that? Was it what I thought? Had I just seen... the _gate?_ No, I couldn't have. Only people who performed human transmutations saw that, didn't they?

"Hey, miss," said a man near me whom I recognized to be another State Alchemist hopeful. "Didn't you hear what he said?"

I nodded. Everything was just so fuzzy and distant.

"Areku?" Mustang walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Sit." 

I didn't think he was asking, so I did as he said. He looked at me in a strange way. Roy knew that this just wasn't some ordinary headache.

"What did you see?" he asked me.

I didn't respond. How could I tell him if I wasn't even sure of what I had seen.

"What did you see!? That's an order!"

Suddenly I felt light-headed again. Mustang shook me. "Stay with it Areku," he said. But I barely heard his voice. His voice was the last thing I heard before blacking out again.

When I awoke, I could tell I was being carried. I opened my eyes and was startled when I saw some huge guy with a single curl of blonde hair carrying me. "Um," I said, "who are you?"

"Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist!" he said proudly.

"Um, Major, could you please set me down now?" I asked.

"Nonsense!" said the extremely creepy guy. "This has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

"What," I said, "your strength, or your ability to freak people out?" I said the "or your ability to freak people out part" under my breath just to be safe.

"What was that?" Armstrong asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just saying that you're really strong. Mmmhmm. Now could you _please_ set me down?"

"Hmm, I suppose." Armstrong set me down (whew). I felt a lot better.

"Um, where's Colonel Mustang?"

"Up ahead of us," replied Armstrong. "We figured you we're going to be out cold for a while, so he went back to HQ to get a place ready for me to set you on if we needed to."

"Oh."

"That was quite a feat back there," said Armstrong. "That was the strangest transmutation I've ever seen."

"Oh," I said. "Yeah."

"Well," said Armstrong, "we had better go and see the Colonel."

"Yeah," I said, "probably."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Soon Armstrong and I arrived back at HQ. I can't say I enjoyed his company. He was nice, but so...creepy. I shivered.

"Are you cold miss?" asked Armstrong.

_No,_ _you just tend to freak me out. _"No, I'm fine."

"Very well."

We walked into Mustang's office. I think he had been freaking out because when we walked in, he was pacing in front of his desk. He stopped as soon as we walked in.

Mustang looked my um..._interesting _companion in the eye. "How many times have I told you to knock before entering Major?"

"Sorry sir," replied Armstrong.

"Loyal," said Mustang, "what happened back there?"

I looked Mustang in the eye and forced a fake cough. I shifted my eyes back and forth in the direction of Major Armstrong. I hoped that the Colonel would get the hint. 

Mustang smiled slightly. "Major Armstrong? I believe that you are needed elsewhere."

"Understood." said Armstrong.

After Armstrong left, Mustang directed his attention back at me. "So, what happened?"

I looked down. "I'm not sure."

"I think you are."

"Sir," I said, "I think it was... the gate."

His eyes widened. "Are you sure? That's only supposed to happen during human transmutations."

"Like I said sir, I'm not sure. I don't know what else it could be though."

"I guess," said Mustang, "that in a way, this _was_ a human transmutation."

"But...how?"

"Well, let's see. Something was obviously going wrong during his transmutation. You saw. His alchemy backfired," said Mustang.

"Yeah, and... Wait- What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, you may have never thought of it this way, but regular medicinal alchemy is basically a minor human transmutation. You are, after all, changing the body. Granted, you aren't bringing anyone back to life, but it's still the same basic concept."

"I never thought of it that way," I said, "but I think you're right. And since I healed something much larger and complicated than anything I've ever healed before..."

"The effect was stronger," finished Mustang. "If you really did see the gate, that explains why you did."

I nodded. Everything was starting to come together.

"Tell me, Areku," said Roy, "what was it like?"

I paused, remembering that moment. I really didn't remember much of what had happened. I was too frightened to pay too much attention to what was actually happening. I told Mustang all of the information I could recall. "There was a strong light, and then fire. It felt like I was being implanted with information. A lot of it."

Mustang seemed to be thinking. "That's very possible."

My eyes widened. No one really knew about this kind of stuff. "How?"

"You've seen how Ed can transmute without a circle, right?"

I nodded.

"Well," said the Colonel, "he could only do that after he attempted to transmute his dead mother. Only those who have committed such a taboo have been able to do that. Everyone is blind to it."

I was surprised. I didn't know that the Colonel knew about Ed and Al's attempt at a human transmutation. 

"But I haven't committed a taboo," I said. "Am I the only one who's seen the gate without doing something like that?"

"I think so," said Mustang. "Maybe that's why most people never even try medicinal alchemy. After all, some believe that medicinal alchemy disrupts human nature."

I thought about it. I guessed that in a way, it did. "But it's for the better of humankind, and it's not like medicinal alchemy is used in attempt to resurrect the dead."

"Maybe not in the way that you use it," said the Colonel. "But isn't there a thin line between saving someone from crossing over to the other side and bringing them back from the other side?"

Again, Mustang was right. There was.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I turned toward Mustang's office door to leave.

"Wait," said Mustang, "aren't you forgetting something?" 

I turned around to faced him. He held up a silver pocket watch. It was the kind that only State Alchemists get. I was a State Alchemist now, and I had almost forgotten. I hadn't even had thought of it. After all, I had seen the _gate._

I walked up to Colonel Mustang and took my new silver pocket watch from him. I watched as the light glimmered on its polished surface. I had succeeded.

"Congratulations Major Loyal," said Roy.

I smiled. "Thank you sir." I had also forgotten that I was a Major now that I was a State Alchemist.

Roy gave me one of his slight smiles back. Was he actually proud of me? Mustang was difficult to read, but I hoped he was. No one ever seemed to be proud of me. I guess that for some reason, praise gives you a reason to live in some ways. You don't feel so invisible and insignificant. I guessed that didn't matter. Every human was an insignificant part of the world compared to the big picture. But then again, there was no reason for a human to feel invisible. Everything had an impact on the world, no matter how small. Even those people who made a larger impact on the world were still insignificant. The world feels the impacts only when many people band together. However, one human can be impacted by another. The world could exist without people. After all, the world had been created without them. But people cannot exist productively without people. 

People also cannot expect to make the world perfect because it will never happen. All we can do is do our best to make the world as good as it can possibly be. Humans aren't perfect, and neither is nature. It's the way our world was meant to be.

"Now what?" I asked. "Don't you have any sort of assignment for me?"

"Actually," said Mustang, "I do. Most new State Alchemists don't get assignments this soon, but with so many of my men going after Scar, I'm a bit short."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to help search for Scar."

I silently gulped. I hadn't been expecting this sort of assignment. It was only my first day of being a State Alchemist.

"Of course," said Mustang, "you'll need a bodyguard to accompany you."

"You can't be serious!" I exclaimed. "A bodyguard!?"

"Well," said the Colonel, "now that you're a State Alchemist, you're a walking target. I don't need any more people getting killed."

"That doesn't mean you-" I sighed. I wasn't going to argue with him. He was my superior now, and I had to do whatever he told me to. So that was why they called State Alchemists dogs of the military.

"I need you to go to Aquroya and search for Scar there," said Mustang.

"Aquroya? Why would Scar be there?"

"Got me. All I know is that Scar has been spotted there several times lately."

I couldn't believe that Scar was or had been in Aquroya. I had grown up there, and I knew that there were not many alchemists there. So why was he there? Maybe he was there because he knew that most people knew that there were not many alchemists in Aquroya. Maybe he was trying to hide from the military.

"Oh, by the way," said the Colonel, "you'll be assigned your symbolic second name soon. I'll notify you when I receive the document." Mustang sighed quietly. Yep, that meant more papers for Mustang to deal with. There was a huge stack of papers on his desk already. I felt kind of bad for him. I wouldn't like paperwork either.

"Go ahead and get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow. I need to find you a bodyguard," said Colonel Mustang.

"Yes sir."

As I turned to leave I noticed that I still had my pocket watch in my hand. I fastened it to my jeans and stuck it in my pocket.

"Oh, wait," said Mustang.

I turned back around. "I have your uniform."

I had forgotten about that too. What was with me? Couldn't I remember anything?

Mustang opened up his desk drawer and took out a standard blue military uniform. I actually liked that standard blue color. It was my favorite color and I wouldn't mind wearing it.

Mustang held out the uniform towards me and I took it from his hands. I saluted the Colonel and left. I was now Major Areku Loyal, State Alchemist of Amestris.


End file.
